Sunday, June 2, 2013

A Little Privacy Please!

Yes, it's been a while.  Yes, a lot of progress has been made.  Yes, I'm skipping over a lot.  GASP! 
 I couldn't resist.  If you've been following the posts on the renovation you may remember this post.  Today's post is a follow-up, specifically about my bathroom door.

First, a little background.

Having limited space to work with, I really liked the idea of a sliding door.  This picture also got me thinking about the darkness of a room without windows.   

Okay, a slider with glass it is.  (click link above for more information about the door I found)

Now to find a creative and affordable solution for making it bathroom friendly.  And, I might add, no longer the subject of  much teasing!  If I had a dollar for every time I heard the comment, "It's not very private!". . . 



Most of the time, I just look at the pictures on Pinterest, but this one warranted further investigation.  Turns out it's just clear contact paper and paint pens.  That simple!

After testing, I decided the contact paper wasn't quite opaque enough.  At least, not on its own.







So while I was trying modify the above plan, I was also trying to think of some design options.  This picture of curtains made out of old hankies started the wheels in my head turning until -FLASH- the light bulb came on!  

Actually, it was more like, DUH! 
I'm a quilter! 
Quilt blocks!  
DUH!!!

Next step - implementation!  


Oh wait.  One more test. I needed to see if my medium of choice would work.

I had decided on tissue paper applied to the contact paper with an old standby . . .



Did you know that this stuff has been around since 1967?  I remember using it back in the 70s.  We were on kind of a Mod Podge kick for a while there.




With a successful test completed, I turned to my EQ6 computer software for the design process.  It has a gazillion blocks in its library and lots of different ways to modify them.

I picked out a bunch, colored them and recolored them.


Then I arranged them and rearranged them.

When I was pleased with the layout (for a while) I printed out each block as a template.




Here's my work station all set up.  





Here's my assistant.




Here's my method:  After using the template to cut the pieces of tissue paper needed,  I layered a square of contact paper over it and taped it all down to the desk.




Since the Mod Podge dries fairly quickly, I spread only enough for one piece at a time.





Placing the paper in position was a little fiddly.


Once all the pieces were in place, I covered it all with a layer of Mod Podge.

When the first block was finished and placed on the door, it seemed to lack something.  So I decided to try outlining each patch with a black Sharpie.





Exactly what was needed!







Fini!

This is with lights on outside only.








Lights on inside only.








Lights on both sides.








I am well pleased!

11 comments:

  1. Lorraine, absolutely love the quilt pattern sliding door! Clever to use tissue paper to give a nice stained glass look!

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  2. What a very clever design! I love it! It gives me ideas!

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    1. Thanks Marsha! One of the best things about the internet is sharing of ideas.

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  3. Beautiful! What a great idea. This would work well with an old window.

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  4. Awesome idea. These are the kind of ideas I like because they give a lot of punch for the dollar and it looks so beautiful and unique. Does this bathroom have a bath or shower? It will be interesting to see how long it holds up being exposed to steam/moisture. Hopefully the Modge Podge keeps it sealed.

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    1. Thanks Lori! I put the panels on the outside so moisture shouldn't be a problem.

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